VoIP Solutions For the Home and Small Office

By Saiju George

Voice over Internet Protocol phone (VoIP) uses a broadband Internet connection to transmit telephone communications. VoIP-connected users can call other VoIP users or those still hooked to traditional phone lines with no real discernible difference between the quality of audio or transmission compared to using a conventional telephone.

In many cases, home phone customers simply use their original phones hooked to a modem that makes them compatible with the IP connection. Many modems can plug into one phone jack and literally hijack a home's internal telephone wiring, making every phone in the house available for use with VoIP.

Large businesses are more likely to have their own custom-built VoIP infrastructures for unified communications. Hosted VoIP services are available for small to medium companies that don't want their own PBX. While not as fully customizable as an in-house hosted system, hosted business VoIP does offer many useful features and the monthly fees are still often lower than standard telephone service.

A hosted VoIP service is particularly useful for small to mid-sized companies with many small branches, remote offices, or work from home / telecommuting employees. Options such as click to call, voice message retrieval from email, free PC to PC calling and high quality conference calling are just a few of the features available with a small business VoIP service.

Unlike POTS (plain old telephone service), which requires expensive and often time consuming installation, VoIP can be installed quickly and easily. Additional lines can be added at any time, and home offices simply need an IP connection and a VoIP router or phone to connect with the main office network.

Most VoIP providers allow businesses to set up their group phones at multiple locations, and move them whenever necessary. A phone number can be assigned to a person or department instead of an office or desk, and the number can be used to receive or make calls from any registered device.

Whether you have a small office and want to use VoIP as an alternative to POTS, for cheaper international calls and greater functionality, or you have a large organization and need to utilize VoIP as part of a larger unified communications plan, the benefits of this service cannot be underestimated.

For home VoIP, existing hardware can be used to make VoIP a cheap alternative to regular telephone service. For business use, additional software and soft phones can be added as well as mobile add-ons and browser functionality to provide the most productive work environment.

Saiju is a unified communications and business software expert. He specializes in http://www.onsip.com.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?VoIP-Solutions-For-the-Home-and-Small-Office&id=4912548] VoIP Solutions For the Home and Small Office
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